Because the engine was painted with both the exhause manifolds and water pump on therefore you would have over spray on the manifold and the water pump to intake hose. If you want to get as close as factory correct as possible that is the way to do it.

So not just overspray on the manifolds, those manifolds are completely orange in the picture?? Wow I never knew that was the way they left the factory! Your definition of "overspray" and mine must be quite a bit different.

I've never seen an exhaust manifold with that significant a paint coating, not 'back then, nor even on restored cars. I think the exhaust manifolds were installed, but there was no attempt to paint the entire manifold, in fact,I believe there was an effort by the engine painter to minimize paint on the exhaust (it burned off almost immediately when the engine was ran).

It must have smelt pretty bad on the line where installed engines were fired up for the first time and exhaust manifold paint started to burn off. I'll be it would have been an OSHA violation if they had existed back then!

Come on ! no trace of orange on my OE manifolds , maybe it burned off. Somewhere it boils down what looks good. vs. perception of "correct"

Yeah, everyone's engine is going to look different. To me, the Seymour paint on that 302 looks too red. However, I like the lower gloss. I don't think most of us could bring ourselves to paint them like they were at the factory, with all the thin and bare spots, runs and sags. Jerry Macneish's engines look very neat and "perfect" probably not because he believes they came that way new. An artistic recreation of what an engine COULD have looked like when it was new would be subjected to so much criticism.

In the last 42 years I have seen many low mileage engines and remember getting complete engines with painted manifolds on at the Chevy dealer I worked at. Generally engines came without manifolds or paint unless it was ordered within the production year. In 69 the engine was painted with manifolds on and the entire outboard side was painted all the way down. On an original block it left a unpainted shadow behind the manifolds that would rust. I tried to replicate painting my engine as the factory did but painted behind the manifolds and had exhaust manifolds coated so the would not rust as much. The paint burned off within 2 minuets on the dyno and left me with close to factory appearance. Pictures show a 29 mile 70 454 engine, a 29K 70 454 engine, and my engine fresh off the dyno. You can clearly see in the second picture how a engine with aluminum intake used a mask to cover the intake and bypass hose. Note the paint on lower half of the clamp. Cast iron intakes did not use the paint mask so the bypass hose was painted. George.

Being a Corvette guy also; have gone to many Al Grenning/John Hinckley seminairs. IIRC the painting process changed in 1968. Priorto that there was some overspray on the exhaust manifolds but none on them from 1968 on up. Correct me if I am wrong. Larry

George those pics are a great reference, but they don't look like they were once covered completely with orange. Is it your opinion that they were and all of it burned off except around the bolt holes?